Automatic gate



(No Model.) I N. H. LONG.

AUTOMATIC GATE.

No. 375,171. Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

ATTORNEY.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHAN H. LONG,- OF MUNOIE, INDIANA.

AUTOMATIC GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,171, dated December20, 1887.

Application filed July 20, 1885. Serial No. 172,033. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN H. LONG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Muncie, in the county of Delaware and State of Indiana, haveinvented a new and useful Automatic Gate, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform a part hereof.

' My invention relates to an improvement in gates; and it consists inthe novel construction and arrangement of the parts thereof, which willbe more fully hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

The obje'cts'of my invention are to provide a gate which is simple andeffective in its construction and operation, strong and durable, easily.handled, readily understood, and comparatively inexpensive inmanufacture. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated by theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view showingthe gate closed. Fig. 2 isa perspective view showing the gate open, andFig. 3 is a view of the tilting-iron which is a part of the lower hingemechanism.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

My improvements consist of a plate loosely attached to a. swinginghinge-rod and fulcrumed to a screw-bolt, the parts so arranged that thegate will be supported by the upper hinge. By this arrangement the gatewill always stand horizontally and vertically true.

The posts A B G are set in the ground in their proper places, as shown.Near the top of post A is secured an cyebolt, D, which pro jects outseveral inches from the said post, and at the bottom of the said post issecured a pintle-bolt, 0, all as shown. A rod, E, is hooked over orsecured to thetop bolt, D,and the lower end passed through the hole U inthe tiltingplateT G V, and a head is forged on the lower end of the saidrod, so that the weight of the gate rests entirely upon it.

The gate-frame K, which may be of any desired style, is provided (at theupper end ofthe rear end bar) with a pintle, X, and at the lower endwith a forked bar, L, all as shown. The

upper pintle, X, is placed in the eye of the bolt D, and the forked barL straddles the rod E and rests on the tilting-plate, all as shown. Thecurved stem G of the tilting-plate is placed over the pintle-bolt 0, sothat it can turn on it without any weight of the gate resting upon saidpintle, and the trip-rods M are secured in the dowuwardcurved end V ofthe said plate by passing the end of one through the hole J, placing theend of the other, which is formed with an eye, F, on the end H, and se'curing a nut, W, thereon, to prevent the said rod H from dropping off,as indicated in Fig. 3. The upper bolt, D, and lower bolt, 0, are set inthe post A in such a manner that when the gate is closed thetilting-plate will rest with the end T against the post A, which allowsthe rod E, gate K, and post A all to stand perpendicular and parallelwith each other. The trip-rods M are held in their places by beingstapled to short posts N, all as shown. The wheel-irons I are placed oneach side of the gate, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The crank ends 1 ofthe wheel-irons I are connected to the outer ends of the trip-rods M,and are adapted to draw the said rods backward and forward. The post 0is set a proper distance from the post A, so that the gate will strikeagainst it when it is opened, all as shown in Fig. 2.

The post B is provided with stops, as shown, so that the gate willstrike against them when it is closed and against the stops on post 0when it is opened, all as shown. The front bar of the gate is providedwith a latch, P, which may be of diiferent design, if desired.

In operating the gate,if the vehicle is moving in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, the wheel-iron is pressed down and thetriprods move in an opposite direction, which turns the tilting-ironaround, tilting the bottom of the gate outward and around to one side,causing the curved end G of the tilting iron to strike against the post,as shown in Fig. 2, which causes the gate to swing open. In closing thegate the opposite wheel-iron is pressed down and the tilting-iron movedback to its position, as shown in Fig.1. -As thus constructed, it willbe seen that the weight of the gate is entirely upon the rod E, whichswings from the upper bolt, D, and that the lower pintle-bolt, O, isonly for the purpose of a fulcrum for the tilting-plate to throw thebottom part of the gate out of line or balance in opening and closing.It is understood by those familiar with suc devices that where the gateis hinged directly to the post the continual jerking of the triprodswhen the vehicle passes over the wheelirons loosens the hinges and soonrenders the gate inoperative; but by the arrangement of thetilting-plate fulcrumed to the pintle-bolt O I am able to avoid thisdifficulty.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim the following and desire tosecure the same by Letters Patent- 1. In an automatic gate, thecombination of the headed rod E, the tilting-plate resting on the headof said rod E, the bolt D, from which said rod is suspended, the gate K,provided with pintle X and forked bar L, the said bar L resting on thetilting-plate and the gate being pivoted at the top to bolt D, the triprods connected to the arm V ofthe tilting-plate, and the pintle O, onwhich said plate is pivoted, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic gate, the combination, with the post A, gate K, saidgate hinged to the post at its upper end, and a bar, E, suspended fromsaid hinge, of a tilting-plate suspended from the lower end of said rodand provided with a curved stern, G, having a perforation through whicha pintle, O, secured to the post is passed, a bar, T, turned downwardlyto form a stop to rest against the post, and a bar, V, turned downwardlyand provided with a perforation to receive the end of the trip-rod M,said rod being provided with wheel-irons I, substantially as described.

NATHAN H. LONG.

\Vitnesses:

O. E. ADAMSON, VILLIAM H. M. COOPER.

